


Borrowed

by darkrose, Scarylady



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BDSM, Breathplay, Dom/sub, Flogging, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-02
Updated: 2011-09-02
Packaged: 2017-10-23 08:47:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkrose/pseuds/darkrose, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarylady/pseuds/Scarylady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somewhere in the Fade, for those who know where to look, there's a strange bar. One evening, Warden-Commander Aedan Cousland and Julian Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall left the bar together, and a kinky time was had by all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Borrowed

**Author's Note:**

> **Notes:** Contains consensual BDSM, and possible spoilers for Dragon Age 2. The Fade Bar is All Twistshimmy's Fault. Aedan Cousland is from [Scarylady's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarylady/pseuds/Scarylady) fabulously kinky [Secret Service series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/7175). Visual references can be found here:
> 
> [Aedan](http://www.formspring.me/SSAedan)   
> [Julian](http://www.formspring.me/ApostateRefugee)

Julian could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn’t quite believe he was doing this, or that Fenris had agreed to it. He glanced over at Fenris, deep in conversation with someone whose name he couldn’t remember. When he caught his lover’s eye, Fenris whispered something to the young woman and came over to Julian.

“You’re sure this is what you want?” he asked. Julian nodded.

“I said...I wanted to feel like I was yours, right? Giving me away; well, it doesn’t get much more ‘yours’ than that.”

Fenris just looked at him for a long moment and then moving quickly, grabbed a handful of Julian’s hair and pulled him down for a bruising kiss, all teeth and tongue. “I’m letting him _borrow_ you,” he growled, “but I’m not ready to make a gift of you.”

Fenris gripped the back of Julian’s neck, staring into his eyes before he finally shoved him toward Aedan. “Here you go,” the elf said, “Just make sure he’s in roughly the same condition when you bring him back.” His casual tone made Julian squirm, his trousers suddenly feeling much too snug.

The last words had barely left Fenris’ mouth when Aedan seized Julian’s wrist in a crushing grip, hauling him bodily towards the stairs. The blond warrior wore a particularly savage grin, and the gleam in his dark eyes suggested that he had _plans_. Julian couldn’t say he was at all averse to the idea of plans.

Aedan kicked the door of his room open, seemingly unwilling to take the time to turn the doorknob, and slammed it behind them. He tugged hard on the wrist he held, releasing it as Julian stumbled forward, so that the mage fell, the floorboards slamming into his hands and knees.

“Strip.”

Julian’s fingers felt clumsy as he undid the buckles on his armor. _This is what I get for not wearing proper robes_. Finally he got everything off, and he knelt in front of Aedan, resting his hands on his thighs. He took a long breath in, trying to center himself and ground his magic.

It felt strange, being loomed over. Julian was a big man, tall and broad-shouldered, but Aedan made him feel almost diminutive.

 _-oOo-_

  
Dragging Julian along behind him to his chamber, Fenris’ earlier words thundered in Aedan’s brain. _Julian likes being hurt. Physically... Sometimes I beat him. And I hit him with my gauntlets on, or fuck him with a hand around his throat_.

Julian’s gentle beauty had attracted him from the beginning, but only at that moment had his blood begun to boil. Maker’s cock, it had been a long time since he’d had such an opportunity. This was no ritualized submission, such as Zevran coaxed from Alistair.

Once he was stripped naked at Aedan’s command, it was a surprise to see Julian kneel so readily, to take up a straight-backed posture with his hands properly placed. Aedan had assumed that he’d be utterly untrained, someone who flirted with danger with his lover, but nothing more than that. He kept his face impassive as he circled the kneeling man, taking his measure. A tidy ponytail snaked down Julian’s back, black hair glossy against his bronzed skin. Aedan seized the end of the tie and pulled, watching the thick locks cascade over broad dusky shoulders. He dragged blunt fingers through it, raking his nails over the scalp until it hung long and lustrous, arranged to his satisfaction.

“Pretty.” He resumed circling, his point made. For tonight, Julian was his toy, to be moved, arranged and ultimately used, however he wished. There was a tiny shift from the kneeling man, a sense that he was not completely comfortable. Good. Tonight Julian would be taken far, far away from any level of comfort or control. Starting now.

Aedan burst into action, allowing Julian no time to adapt. The hair he’d just arranged so beautifully was hauled into a knot around his fist, the mage’s head hauled back in one swift move. He stared down into melting brown eyes, a hint of fear glinting in the back of them. Callused fingers probed at the soft mouth above the well-trimmed beard, demanding entry.

“Open.” Aedan’s other hand encircled Julian’s throat, applying no real pressure, just enough to allow him to feel the strength in his fingers.

 _-oOo-_

  
Julian had found it hard to stay still with Aedan carding his fingers through his hair, always a quick way to turn him into a puddle of melted mage. He’d barely managed to stifle a laugh when Aedan called him “pretty”; usually, that word was applied to Fenris, with his lithe elven build and almost delicate features.  But to be prowled around by this man, a stranger, who said nothing and watched him so closely… that was a little frightening, and very arousing.  After so many years together, he could usually guess what Fenris was going to do, but Aedan was a complete unknown.

  
The sudden grip on his hair, the hand at his throat, the fingers forcing their way through his lips, all these came as a shock, the change too sudden to comprehend.

Julian licked Aedan’s fingers; he had swordsman’s hands that tasted faintly of steel. It was a little difficult to concentrate with the hand at his throat making all the blood in his body rush southward. Glancing up didn’t help either; Aedan had dark eyes Julian could easily drown in, combined with a cold, distant expression that was somewhat unnerving, even for the man who’d defeated the Arishok in single combat. _He killed an archdemon,_ Julian reminded himself. I _might be able to take him down, but I’d have to work for it._

That thought just made it all even better.

At the touch of his tongue against Aedan’s fingers, the digits were removed instantly, delivering instead a sharp stinging slap across Julian’s tattooed cheek.

I said ‘open’. Do as you’re bid.”

That was… unexpected, to say the least.

Julian complied and Aedan pushed his thumb between Julian’s lips, forcing his jaw to open wide, pressing down on his tongue, using his thumb as an instrument of his dominance. Only once Julian utterly submitted to the intrusion did Aedan relent, withdrawing the digit, but retaining his grip on his throat, hauling him to his feet by it. He lifted Julian just slightly higher than was comfortable, looking down into his eyes while Julian scrabbled for footing to keep his balance.

“So many options,” Aedan murmured. “What should I do to you, I wonder...”

 _Maker, he’s strong!_ Aedan was holding him off the floor with one hand, and he wasn’t even breathing hard.

Julian forced himself to keep his eyes open and meet Aedan’s gaze with his own. He considered and discarded several sarcastic comments; he hadn’t been told to speak, and with Aedan’s hand on his throat, talking was going to be difficult anyway.

 _-oOo-_

  
 _I beat him... hit him with my gauntlets on... fuck him with a hand around his throat_.

  
All options that would have made Aedan a happy man, but he wasn’t here to emulate experiences that Julian had already enjoyed. No, if he wanted the best from this encounter then he’d have to keep his opponent off-balance **,** and this _was_ an opponent, regardless of his preferences.  There was too much thought, too much awareness, too much resistance, for him to be a true submissive.

Yet, at any rate.

“Do you know what the real advantage of this place is, Julian?” Aedan kept his tone conversational, expecting no response, not when he still held that tender throat in such a controlling grip, keeping the mage on his tiptoes. “I can summon anything I want, just by thinking about it.” He watched Julian’s reactions carefully, learning what he needed to know. “If I want a whipping frame, seven feet high, to bind you to, I can have one. I can flog you until the slightest touch makes you beg.” A slight noise escaped Julian’s bruised throat, a squeak that suggested he approved of this idea. “I can tie you with so much soft rope you can’t move an inch, and then smear you in stinging oils and watch you try to squirm.” He watched Julian’s eyes, looking for the tightness that denoted fear, or the soft longing of desire. Nothing, no reaction at all. “I can mount you on the biggest Maker-damned dildo you ever saw, and bind your cock so tight you’ll never come.” There it was: the melting look of a man whose dreams just came true. Good enough.

Aedan grinned, watching Julian squirm in his iron grip. He’d have to release him soon, before he completely cut his air off, but could keep this up just a little longer. He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Julian’s mouth, in utter contrast to his bruising grasp.

“You’re mine tonight, handed over like property. I can do whatever I wish.”

 _-oOo-_

  
It was the thing he’d wanted to hear for so long, well before he’d met Fenris. _Mine. Property. Slave._ Someone stronger, someone who would take control and let Julian take a rest from being the eldest child, the head of the family and mentor to his younger sister, the leader of his group of bickering misfits, or the blighted Champion of sodding Kirkwall. Someone who would assert his authority over Julian, and then give it back when he was done.

He felt like a small child in a bakery, staring at the pastry shelf after being told he could have whatever he wanted. Sometimes it was difficult with Fenris, the threads of memories from his previous life entangling them both and complicating everything. With a man who didn’t have hatred of magic literally burned into him, perhaps he wouldn’t have to hold as tightly to his control, or step quite as carefully for fear of hitting a sensitive spot.

He wanted this badly, but that didn’t mean he was going to make it easy. That would be boring. He stretched his legs until he could just barely touch the floor, enough to give him leverage to struggle in Aedan’s grip.

 _-oOo-_

  
The ill-timed rebellion caused Aedan a minor quandary. He couldn’t maintain this grip any longer without doing real damage, but appearing to acquiesce to Julian’s struggles was not an acceptable option. He compromised by flinging the smaller man violently to the floor. The sight of him sprawled naked, panting and wheezing from the sudden excess of air, fizzed through Aedan’s veins like fine wine.

  
There was no time to savour the sight though, as Aedan had no doubt that Julian would show fight again if given the slightest opportunity.       

A brief moment of concentration produced the items he needed, clattering to the floor in the same moment that Aedan swooped down upon the prone body, pressing his knee into Julian’s spine to hold him in place and seizing his arms, dragging them back. He picked a couple of cuffs from the tangle of items he’d summoned, lacing them into place with one hand,while using the other to control any struggles. Cunning little clips secured one cuff to the other, holding Julian’s arms snugly behind his back.

Good enough.

“As you’re mine, let’s make sure you don’t forget it.”

He reached for another item from the pile, a strip of hard leather adorned with a ring of metal. A collar, plain and simple. Curled next to it on the floorboards, ignored for the moment, was the matching leash. Julian’s head was turned towards them, his cheek pressed into the oak boards. The look in his eyes as he regarded them made Aedan’s balls tighten with savage pleasure.

 _-oOo-_

  
Julian stared at the collar and leash, his cock painfully hard. _How did he know?_  He’d never told anyone about the strange mix of revulsion and longing he’d felt the first time he encountered a qunari mage. Having his mouth sewn shut was about as appealing as the idea of being made Tranquil, but being controlled like that, forced to surrender to another’s will....

True, he’d just met Aedan, but the man clearly knew what he was about. He had the confidence Julian had seen in all of the Wardens, but even more than that, he had a sense of humour.  Julian had often thought that he couldn’t have survived eight years in Kirkwall without being able to laugh about it all sometimes, and he suspected that being the Hero of Ferelden wasn’t all that different.

 _I think maybe I can trust him._ With that, he inhaled slowly, then exhaled, letting go of the lightning he could sense just under his skin. He turned his head as much as he could, trying to meet Aedan’s eyes.

“You win,” he said.

There was no response, only the feel of Aedan’s hands at his throat, buckling the collar into place. A tremor that ran through Julian when the buckle snapped closed and, when the leash was attached to the ring with an audible click, he whimpered. The whole process seemed wired directly to his cock, his reaction humiliatingly obvious.

Aedan wrapped the leash around his fist, holding Julian on a short line. The first insistent tug of his collar made Julian swallow hard, and he saw a glimpse of teeth as Aedan grinned.

“Time to put you to work.”

Sensitive to their needs the Fade chamber had produced a bed with thick wooden posts and it was to this that Aedan dragged Julian, uncaring of whether he found his way to his knees or not, so that Julian had to scrabble frantically to avoid being dragged like a sack.  While Aedan tied the leash firmly to one of the bottom posts, leaving perhaps a foot of leather free, to provide his captive with some small freedom of movement, Julian took the opportunity to find his balance, clumsy without the use of his hands.

Aedan stripped off his shirt, revealing a massive, lightly-furred chest, and kicked his trousers off, freeing his erect cock.

“Suck me.”

Aedan had backed off before stripping and giving the command, and Julian had to wonder exactly how much leeway the leash was going to provide him with. Standing up was clearly going to be impossible, and he couldn’t exactly crawl with his hands behind his back, so Julian was forced to scoot forward awkwardly on his knees. He almost fell over as he reached the end of the leash, not quite close enough to reach Aedan’s cock easily.

  
Julian edged forward, the collar tightening the more he stretched toward his goal. He felt a tiny flutter in his stomach, a bit daunted by the sheer size of the man. _I should have guessed he’d be big all over._

  
Finally, his lips made contact. Straining against the leash, he got his mouth around the head of Aedan’s cock. He gave up on breathing and concentrated on trying to encompass as much as possible before sucking him in earnest.

 _-oOo-_

The sensation was as incredible as ever, made better by the sight of those bottomless brown eyes gazing up at him. Aedan watched Julian take a deep breath before pressing forward, taking him in, and offered him a rare approving smile. He wanted to pet him, to soothe him as the strain began to show, the tendons of Julian’s throat standing out against the dark leather. Instead he wound his fingers in the mage’s long, black hair, controlling his head to some extent, ensuring that he did not pull back from his task without Aedan’s say-so.

The advantage of having such an active sex-life was that Aedan could last a long time, as he was never more than a few hours from his last explosion. There was no possibility of Julian working him to a conclusion before his air ran out. The lips that surrounded him, the tongue that rubbed enthusiastically at the underside of his shaft brought enormous pleasure, but no risk of release. He kept his eyes on Julian, watching him become increasingly desperate, almost frantic. It would require careful timing to ensure that he pushed the man to his limit without overstepping that mark, and he was curious to see just how much trust Julian would display.

 _-oOo-_

  
It felt strange to have his mouth on another man’s cock without tasting lyrium on his tongue. It was a challenge, too; Aedan’s control was impressive. Julian started using every non-magical trick he knew, but Aedan’s breath coming a little faster was the most he got in response.

Aedan’s fingers were tangled in his hair, guiding him but not forcing his head down. He felt safe enough to relax a tiny bit and savor the unfamiliar weight of Aedan’s cock, the silken softness of his skin and the scent of him. Julian closed his eyes and let himself stop thinking, and just _felt_.

He moaned around Aedan’s shaft, trying to reach the base of him, anxious to have Aedan against the back of his throat even as the collar pulled, restricting his breathing even more. The moan turned into something more like a whimper, and he tugged on the cuffs without consciously realizing it.

 _-oOo-_

  
That little tug spoke volumes, speaking as it did of the fight between body and will. Julian was doing his damnedest to take all of him, his throat working to absorb what little air he could.

“Eyes open.”

The command was not merely to enforce his ownership, nor for the pleasure of seeing Julian’s beautiful eyes. Aedan needed to see them, to know the point where they became hazy. He watched intently as the mage determinedly pressed forward, pushing himself to the very limit in order to have every available inch. By the time Aedan’s cock nudged the back of his throat, Julian was starting to gasp, the muscles in his throat fluttering. He raised an inch or so and sank back down, his nose buried in blond curls. Aedan fought the desire to close his own eyes, to sink into sensation. He had a responsibility, drummed into him by Zev from the very first time they played these games.

He watched the mage fight for air, refusing to give in, and admiration pricked at Aedan. Julian seemed such a gentle soul, but he had hidden strength. Only when he saw eyelids begin to flutter down again over dreamy brown eyes did he relent, giving verbal permission, and reinforcing it with a tug on the hair wrapped around his fist.

“Stop. You may breathe.”

Julian pulled back and took several deep lungfuls of air. Aedan watched his eyes clear, and as soon as they did Julian leaned in again, just nuzzling at him lightly.  He saw Julian’s shoulder shift as he tugged at the cuffs, obviously wishing to use his hands, before rubbing as much of his face against Aedan as he could manage, like an overgrown house cat.

Finally he sat back on his heels and licked the head of Aedan’s cock.   Aedan refrained from commenting, giving Julian plenty of rope for the moment, and he sucked Aedan’s cock back into his mouth, providing slow, leisurely stimulation.

So good, the hot sucking mouth, the lapping tongue. Aedan took a moment to enjoy it before speaking, almost regretting his role in their little drama.  It would be pleasant to stroke Julian’s hair, to encourage him by word or gesture. Instead, he broke the silence, keeping his tone light and conversational.

“That’s three times you’ve defied me.”  
Julian’s sucking mouth faltered and he looked up, his eyes pools of injured innocence. Aedan only barely prevented himself from grinning back at him, not taken in for a second.

“Your earlier struggles remain unpunished, as does the way you spoke without permission.” Aedan made no move, gave no orders, just continued in the same conversational tone. “And now you suck me after I told you to stop.”

That brought Julian to a complete halt, and he pulled away, sitting back on his heels. The facade of a wounded innocent was still firmly in place, his eyes wide and guileless **,** but a gleam of mischief flared in their depths, confirming Aedan’s suspicions.

The big warrior sauntered to the bedpost, ignoring Julian completely for the moment, concentrating instead on untying his leash from the bedpost. Only once it was firmly wrapped around his fist did he turn back to the kneeling mage.

“Do you see the rest of the items I summoned?” Aedan indicated a small heap on the floor; floggers, straps, canes and paddles.

Julian glanced at them and nodded slowly, clearly not willing to risk speaking without permission.

“Good. Select one and give it to me.”

 _-oOo-_

  
Julian scooted across the floor, biting his lips to hold back a grin. He hadn’t expected to fool Aedan, but trying was part of the fun.

As he contemplated the available items, Julian realized that they were actually shifting as he watched, the Fade rearranging itself to suit his thoughts. He was familiar with the concept, so it was easy enough to visualize exactly what he wanted; something solid, with enough weight that he’d feel it deep in his muscles the next day.

A whip shimmered into existence on top of the pile. The handle was thick, and long enough that Julian could have held it with both hands had they not been cuffed behind his back. It had more tails than he could count quickly, flat ones made of some type of heavy animal hide. Swinging the thing would require a fair amount of strength, and the impact.... _Yes. That._

Getting his mouth around the handle was tricky, but he finally managed, and began the laborious process of getting back to Aedan. He was tempted to drop the flogger at Aedan’s feet, but decided that might be pushing it a little too much. Instead, he sat up, back straight, drooling around the thick leather handle.

 _I feel like I should be wagging a stump of a tail right about now._

Aedan took it, and considerately wiped Julian’s mouth off with a summoned handkerchief. He hefted it, the thick, solid grip looking small in his large hand, and allowed the flat leather fringes to trickle through his fingers while he regarded Julian thoughtfully.

“Have you had such a whipping before? You may answer.”

“Never with anything this heavy,” said Julian. He hesitated, only continuing when Aedan gave him a slight nod.

“Fenris and I...we’re still trying to figure all of this out,” he explained. “He’s not comfortable using anything—any whip that is—that could possibly break skin.”

  
Julian hadn’t understood at first. Fenris would happily score his back and arse with the tips of his gauntlets, or choke him hard enough to leave bruises on Julian’s dark skin, or backhand him and give him a split lip until they finished and Julian healed himself. He didn’t want to push, but finally he had to ask, and the answer hadn’t been what he expected.

 _“I’ve lashed out at you too often without cause, simply because you were the nearest mage_ ,” Fenris had said. _“If I used a whip instead of words...I’m afraid of what I might do.”_

  
Perhaps he should have been more concerned that his mage-hating lover would cross a line, but Julian trusted Fenris, more than Fenris trusted himself, it seemed.

“I don’t know how much I can take,” he told Aedan, “but since I’m a mage, the other side always target me first, so I’m not unfamiliar with getting hurt **,** and while I’m not the best healer in the world, I can manage anything short of missing body parts.” He hoped that his inexperience wouldn’t dissuade Aedan; he was enjoying this far too much to stop now.

 _-oOo-_

  
A tiny frown creased Aedan’s brow at Julian’s words, although he kept the rest of his face impassive. There was a very big difference between bedroom play, however rough, and the kind of damage done by enemies in the field targeting the vulnerable mage. He began to wonder exactly what it was Julian was looking for, and whether he could actually deliver it.

Still, there was more than one way to skin a cat, and it was beginning to sound like Julian’s previous forays into this area had been fairly new and exploratory. Straight off the top of his head, Aedan could think of, oh, at least half a dozen ways to knock Julian off-balance, none of which required him to break the skin, or even lay a finger on the mage.

"Stand up.” Aedan shortened the leash so that his fist was directly against Julian’s collar, using the leverage to drag him to his feet. It had the additional hidden advantage that he could hold the other man steady while the blood rushed back into his extremities. He swapped the flogger to the same hand he had the leash wrapped around, so that the butt was pressed against Julian’s cheek and the tails cascaded over his naked shoulder.

Once Julian could stand under his own steam, Aedan reached down with his free hand to caress the erection that jutted from a foam of black curls. He kept his eyes on Julian’s, watching his reaction to this, the first real contact he’d received.

 _-oOo-_

  
If Julian had mostly forgotten how hard he was, he remembered the instant Aedan touched him. He gasped, bending forward and fighting the impulse to thrust against that big, warm hand. Every sensation seemed magnified, from Aedan’s almost lazy caresses to the tails of the flogger brushing against his back. All thoughts of defiance or resistance vanished in the face of overwhelming need for _more_ of everything.

Julian’s knees threatened to buckle; Aedan’s grip on the collar was the only thing keeping him upright. And then Aedan, the bastard, made things worse, tightening his fingers around Julian’s cock and stroking him firmly. His expression was as cold as ever, strangely dispassionate as he watched for Julian’s response; Julian wanted to close his eyes, to look away, but he couldn’t, not if he was going to maintain any sort of control. He shook with the effort of holding himself back; Aedan didn’t need to tell him that he wasn’t going to be allowed any relief, not yet.

He just barely bit back the word, “please”, turning it instead into an extremely undignified whimper.

 _-oOo-_

  
Aedan maintained a brutal grip on Julian’s collar, the butt of the flogger digging into his tattooed cheek. Every stroke of Aedan’s hand on the other man’s cock brought Julian closer to the edge, closer to a crisis point. He could feel the tremble resonating through Julian’s broad frame, could feel his need to thrust, to chase the extra bit of sensation that Aedan was not providing.

When a whimper escaped Julian’s lips, Aedan ceased his ministrations, freeing up his hand to grip the flogger once more. For the next part, he was going to require both hands again.

“Open.” He pressed the handle of the flogger against Julian’s mouth, admiring how his lips were soft with desire. The mage obediently opened his mouth, his breath ragged, and accepted the handle between his teeth.

A moment of concentration brought forth a long strip of silky cloth, double-folded and a couple of inches in width. Aedan unravelled the leash, bringing his other hand back into play, and crouched before Julian. A few deft twists, a pair of neat knots, just as Zev had taught him years before, and Julian’s cock and balls were tightly bound, the cloth surrounding his flesh in a figure-eight configuration.

Aedan stood, taking the heavy flogger from between Julian’s teeth and winding in the leash again, so the spare was no more than six inches. Julian’s eyes were wide, shocked. It seemed likely he’d never been bound this way before, never been denied release in such a specific and undeniable fashion, never before felt the blood throbbing through his tortured cock.

Now for the tricky part. It took much more concentration than the creation of a few bits of leather and wood, but over the course of the next minute or so the structure coalesced against the wall: three planks of smooth wood, significantly taller than even Aedan’s head; one vertical from the floor to virtually the ceiling; the other two in an X shape cutting through the centre of the first. A whipping frame, plain and simple. The moment the structure was solid, Aedan headed directly for it, dragging Julian along by his collar.

 

 _-oOo-_

  
Julian would have been impressed by Aedan’s ability to impose his will on the Fade if he hadn’t been distracted by the cloth wound tightly around his cock and balls.  It wasn’t exactly painful—not yet, at least— but it did feel rather odd, and would certainly be uncomfortable before long.

“Uncomfortable” turned out to be something of an understatement when Aedan shoved him face-first against the wooden frame. He wanted to squirm, do something, anything to relieve the pressure. There was no opportunity, though, not once Aedan unclipped the cuffs and pulled his arms over his head. He rubbed Julian’s arms, working out the pins and needles before refastening the cuffs to the frame.

Aedan kicked his legs apart and buckled leather cuffs around Julian’s ankles, attaching them to the frame, He checked over everything, making sure Julian was arranged to his satisfaction and making certain he was fully secured. Julian felt a slight tug on his collar as Aedan removed the leash, and he forced himself to breathe. It was almost more difficult to remain still than when Fenris beat him; he didn’t have to focus all of his attention on not moving. He felt the tails of the flogger brushing over his skin, in a slow, deliberate rhythm and despite his attempts to relax, the muscles in his back and shoulders tensed, anticipating the first blow.

 _-oOo-_

  
This was one of the best parts of the evening, watching every muscle flinch and twitch as he trailed the flogger to and fro.   The black leather tails looked pretty against Julian’s dark skin, and Aedan took a moment to admire the physique of the body spread out for his entertainment **.** Julian wasabove average height, broad of shoulder, with a delectably tight arse **,** and the muscles of his back long and lean, not bulky like his and like Alistair’s. A gorgeous body for a mage; there was something to be said for not locking them away in the Circle where they’d lose their muscle tone.

“You have my permission to yell and scream as much as you wish. If I change my mind and become bored with your cries **,** I’ll gag you.”

The first blow landed as the last word left his mouth, seeking to catch Julian unawares. Having trickled the flogger tails over his victim’s back and shoulders for the last few minutes, Aedan deliberately aimed for that luscious arse, holding back on the strength of the swing, but following through with his arm so that the ends of the tails licked around Julian’s hip. Light swings like these would feel heavy enough to Julian at first, no doubt, given the size and weight of the flogger he’d selected. Aedan settled into a rhythm, laying solid thudding blows across Julian’s skin, watching how his dance began.

 _-oOo-_

  
At first, Julian was afraid Aedan was holding back. The tails of the flogger landed with a solid impact, but nowhere near what Julian had been bracing for. It felt...good, actually, like a nice firm massage.  
As Aedan kept going, Julian realized that each stroke was incrementally harder than the one before it. He was aware of everything: the faint whistling sound as Aedan swung the whip, the weight and pressure of all that leather hitting his skin, the heat of his skin, and most of all, the throbbing ache of his bound cock. Restrained as he was, there was absolutely nothing he could do for himself.

It was wonderful.

For form’s sake, if nothing else, he tried to keep quiet. That lasted right up until Aedan landed a particularly hard blow that struck directly on the crease where his arse met the top of his thighs. Julian let out a startled shout. He was glad of the cuffs; without them he would have tried to move, to avoid the next stroke, and probably fallen over.

Aedan had apparently decided it was time to get serious, because the next few blows were fast and hard. Julian forgot his pride; he moaned, yelled, and even gasped out a few choice words of Arcanum he’d picked up from Fenris. He tensed for impact, only to find that Aedan was a step ahead of him, and was varying the rhythm of the blows in a way that was impossible to anticipate. The flogger fell again and again, across his shoulder, back, arse and legs, and no matter how much he tugged on his bonds or cried out through tightly clenched teeth, Aedan gave no indication that he planned to stop any time soon.

 _-oOo-_

  
Julian’s involuntary flinches and twitches metamorphosed into a beautiful dance, his whole body swaying on the cross, futilely seeking to avoid the next blow and the next. The flogging had long since covered every inch of skin from shoulders to knees, and still Aedan swung the big whip tirelessly, one handed, his arm strengthened through a decade of swordwork. With the other he caressed himself, wishing Julian could see him do so, could know that he was receiving the pleasure denied to his captive.

Julian’s gorgeous arse, undulating from side to side in pointless denial, or tensing up tight when a particularly vicious strike landed, was starting to look awfully attractive. After a final flurry, Aedan allowed the flogger to be still, Julian’s shuddering breaths loud in the sudden quiet. He stepped up to the cross, and ran his hand over the hot skin, testing its resilience.

“Don’t think for a second that I’m finished with you,” he told Julian. “I think I deserve a little break, though, even if you don’t.”

 _Maker bless the Fade,_ he thought, as warm grease materialised on his fingers without conscious thought, responsive to his desires. He thrust a finger inside Julian, and the moment the mage’s mouth opened in an inevitable groan Aedan deposited the handle of the flogger between his lips.

“You can hold that until I need it again.” The message was clear; the whipping was by no means over.

 _-oOo-_

  
 _Don’t drop the flogger_.

Julian repeated it to himself like a mantra, trying to concentrate on something, anything, to keep himself grounded. Aedan’s long, thick finger was driving him mad, and it only got worse when he added a second finger. Julian couldn’t stop himself from grinding his hips against the unyielding wood, but the only result was that Aedan reached around to double-check that the bindings were in place.

It wasn’t until Aedan ran a hand over the heated skin of his arse and got a slight electrical shock that Julian realized how fragile his control was. He made what he hoped was an apologetic sound and tried to even out his ragged breathing. Fortunately, Aedan didn’t seem bothered by it; he simply added a third finger without comment.

At last Aedan took his hand away, leaving Julian empty and a little bereft, but not for long. He was glad for the leather-wrapped handle in his mouth; it gave him something to bite down on when he felt the head of Aedan’s cock pressing at his entrance. Even by human standards, Fenris wasn’t a small man, but Aedan was in a class by himself. Julian clenched his teeth, willing himself to relax.

 _-oOo-_

  
Even after stretching, Julian was tight, so tight, his muscles doing their best to reject the intrusion. Mindful of what he guessed to be Julian’s leading passion, Aedan didn’t hold back or take too much care, instead driving into him hard, pushing past that reluctant ring, while Julian bit down on the handle of the flogger, strangled noises escaping from behind it. Once seated, he paused a moment, both hands flat on the wooden frame, feeling the muscles of Julian’s channel flutter around him.

Aedan could feel the heat pouring off the skin of Julian’s arse and back, could feel how he trembled, see how his hands clenched and released helplessly in their restraints. The occasional faint shimmer of magic coursing over Julian’s skin bothered Aedan not at all; he’d slept with mages before, lots of them, notably Morrigan - who made little effort to control the impact of her magic upon her lovers - and Anders, who constantly made up new ways to _make it_ affect them.

He pulled half out and slammed back in again, drawing another strangled noise from behind Julian’s effective gag. The rhythm Aedan set was hard, almost punishing. After all, this was just for him; Julian’s role was to receive, to suffer the torment of his bound cock and sore skin while Aedan used him. With this in mind he shifted his angle slightly, ensuring that he rubbed over that most sensitive spot with each stroke and swore he heard Julian sob behind the thick leather handle he gripped in his teeth, his hips fruitlessly grinding, seeking a release that he was quite simply not permitted. For an additional fillip of effect, Aedan reached around to where Julian’s bound cock pumped helplessly, and with his thumb spread Julian’s fluids over the swollen tip in teasing circles. All the while he drove into that beautiful tight heat, over and over, until his balls drew up tight and hard and he clenched his own teeth, fighting for control for the very first time.

 _-oOo-_

 _  
_

The high-pitched keening noise Julian heard sounded like it was coming from very far away, but he was vaguely aware that he was the one making it. Aedan gave no quarter, pounding into him ruthlessly and hitting what would normally be the perfect spot. Only now, with his cock and balls trussed up like a roast nug, there was only the agony of wanting release and having it denied.

When Aedan rubbed his thumb ever-so-lightly against the tip of his cock, Julian finally let go, and shattered into little mage pieces. He let his body go limp, supported by the frame and by Aedan’s solid bulk at his back. Pride and dignity were forgotten as he sobbed, overwhelmed by the barrage of heat and friction and pressure. Somehow, he was able to keep a fragment of his consciousness focused on reining in his magic; the rest of him was drowning in sensation.

It felt like a victory of sorts when he heard Aedan grunt behind him, to know that he wasn’t the only one being affected. He half-wished he could turn around, just to see the look on Aedan’s face, but that would have spoiled the illusion. He wasn’t anyone important, anything other than a hole for a bigger, stronger man to fuck.

 _-oOo-_

  
A part of Aedan was horrified that he was pounding into a man who hung, limp, beaten and sobbing, but that part was distant and remote. In the driving seat now was his darker side, the part that had rolled over every obstacle between him and his goal, during the Blight and after. It was the part that he had to tamp down hard most of the time, that needed a vent every now and again, a reasonable safe valve. That aspect of Aedan gloried in this, in the savage pleasure of success, the joy of trampling over others to reach his objective. The more rational part of his mind knew perfectly well that Julian was having the time of his life, but right now, with his cock swelling in the hot tight channel of a defeated adversary, it was the beast who roared his release, who dug his fingers hard into Julian’s sore shoulders and pumped seed until he could produce no more.

He clung there for a moment, panting, while Julian’s muffled sobs diminished to broken whimpers, and then withdrew, producing a cloth with which to cursorily wipe them both.

“Open.” He took the flogger from Julian’s slack mouth and stepped back, drawing a shuddering breath. Time to put the beast back in its cage; he had a responsibility. Aedan shook his arm to loosen it and took the first swing.

 _-oOo-_

  
Julian felt wrung out, as physically drained as if he’d been the one doing all of the work. With his hair damp from sweat, lank and sticking to his face and neck, and Aedan’s seed leaking from his arse, he knew he must look a fright. He didn’t care. His entire world had narrowed to Aedan and the rhythm of the heavy flogger landing on his skin; even his tortured cock almost seemed to belong to someone else.  
It was strangely calming, and peaceful in a way that he couldn’t remember experiencing since before Kirkwall and the Blight, and maybe not since before his father died. For once in his life, he had nothing to do except _be_.

 _Fenris and I need to talk,_ Julian thought. _I’m going to want to do this again, and I want to do it with him._

He didn’t feel completely empty, however. He could sense his magic with sharp-edged clarity, the raw power of fire and lightning, stone and ice, force and spirit flowing through his veins with a heady intensity. He wondered if this was what blood mages sought, what the magisters of the ancient Imperium had been trying to find in the Golden City. _If so, they’re doing it all wrong._

 _-oOo-_

  
The squirming and writhing, the screaming and crying, all this had ceased. Julian hung limp on the cross, only quiet sounds and vague twitches emanating from his beaten body. Aedan finally allowed the flogger to be still and watched how little the mage even reacted to that. Occasional ripples of energy coursed through his skin, earthing itself into the wooden frame.

Aedan flung the flogger aside and strode over, running a hand over superheated skin. Only faint colour showed, Julian’s skin being too dark to see more, but the effects were there, simmering under the skin, beaten into flesh and muscle _. He’s going to really ache when he wakes tomorrow._

He bent first to undo the ankle cuffs, and then quickly stood, slipping one arm around Julian’s waist to support him. With the other he undid the wrist cuffs, and as soon as the last restraint fell away Julian sagged into his arms, unable to support his own weight. He moaned in quiet protest, probably due to the blood returned to his limbs.

“Shh, I have you safe.” Aedan scooped him up into his arms, bearing his weight easily, and carried him to the bed, laying him out carefully. Julian was sweaty and tear-stained, limp and compliant, deeply sunk into the state he had sought. With some care, Aedan removed the bindings that surrounded his swollen flesh, seeing how much darker his cock had become from the blood trapped there. Even now, after all this, he was still rampantly erect and at the gentle touch of Aedan’s fingers **,** he jerked his hips reflexively and moaned hoarsely through a raw throat.

Aedan smiled, gentle in a way he had not allowed himself to be before, and bent his head, licking a gentle stripe up the velvet flesh. To see such a rebellious soul reduced to this brought him a fresh surge of heat, and had Julian appeared in any fit state he would have considered fucking him again. But the game was ended, it must end now or risk Julian plummeting from the heights, and so instead he took the head of Julian’s neglected cock into his mouth, slipping down over him slowly, savouring every twitch and groan.

 _-oOo-_

  
The wet heat of Aedan’s mouth was just enough to ease Julian out of his strange, unanchored state. There didn’t seem to be any need for him to move, so he didn’t, other than to lazily run his fingers through Aedan’s hair. He suspected that he would be in a great deal of pain once he returned to himself—and he had a hundred questions about what had just happened—but that was later; only now mattered.

Julian fought the temptation to close his eyes and shifted position, hips rocking ever so slightly towards Aedan. He stroked the curve of Aedan’s ear, finding the roundness fascinating, and trailed a hand down to the other man’s neck, not pushing, just revelling in the feeling of his skin.

When Aedan’s tongue hit an especially sensitive spot just below the head of his cock, Julian twitched, his fingers tightening in blond hair. It felt as though he’d been like this for days, hard and just on the edge of release. It was almost in reach, but he strained to hold himself back; Aedan hadn’t given him permission, and he was still off-balance, not quite sure how he was expected to act. He made a soft noise, hoping that Aedan would recognize the question in it.

Aedan’s hands reached for his, and the gentle squeeze of his fingers provided the reassurance he needed. Contrary to the slow, gentle pace he’d so far set, Aedan now swallowed him to the root, sucking hard. Julian thrust against his face, matching Aedan’s tempo until at last he gave a hoarse cry, drawn up from the depths of his being, shuddered, pumping his release into Aedan’s welcoming mouth.

The long-delayed orgasm left Julian limp, exhausted, unable to express by word or gesture how good the night had been. Aedan kissed him, and stroked his hair, and the little show of affection almost undid him all over again.

“You were fantastic. Shh, no need to talk.” Aedan laid a finger against Julian’s mouth and pulled him close, wrapping massive arms around the other man.

“All done and finished. You’re safe now, I’ve got you. Go to sleep.”   Julian snuggled down with a meaningless murmur, already three-quarters asleep, and Aedan kissed his damp forehead.

From a long way away, Julian heard Aedan give a soft chuckle and out of nowhere the weight of a coverlet folded in around them.

 _The advantages of the Fade are endless it seems._

The lamps went out.

 


End file.
